05/02/2012    10:30 am - 11:00 am

Introduction to the Canadian Masters in HR Strategy & Execution Event

Presenters:
Lynn Lievonen (HR.com)
Arlene Insch (HR.com)

Join us for our two-day virtual event presented by the Institute for Human Resources (IHR), Canadian Masters in HR Strategy and Execution. This introductory half-hour will provide you with an overview of the May 2nd and May 3rd schedule. We will also review the IHR 12-month certification program, explaining how the process works. The speakers we have gathered together for this 2-day event will cover a wide variety of topics from employee engagement, mentoring, employee wellness, employee retention and team-building, as well as important attention given to the area of developing into an effective and engaging leader. You may recognize a few of our speakers as they are ‘back by popular demand’ and will continue the dialogue started in their earlier presentations. Detailed information on each topic and speaker is available by clicking on the links below. Our engaging, knowledgeable and entertaining speakers are looking forward to the opportunity to present their material and look forward to interacting with you, virtually, during their webcast. Attending all of the webcasts is free and there is a one-time fee only to write the final exam leading to certification. Each webcast in this 2-day event will be archived on www.hr.com shortly after it takes place and all sessions, whether you hear them live or through the archived version, are pre-approved for IHR certification and HRCI recertification credits. We hope you enjoy meeting and learning from the experts we have assembled for these 2 days and we look forward to your feedback on the evaluation forms sent to you after each session. Thank you for your interest in our Canadian Masters community. Enjoy the conference!

05/02/2012    11:00 am - 12:00 pm

The Engaged and Disengaged Employee in a Mentoring Culture

Presenters:
Doug Lawrence (TalentC - People Services Inc.)

Organizations today are faced with many challenges some of which include: economic downturn, aging work force, talent shortage, lack of succession planning/development and a workforce that is disengaged. When you look around your work environment do you as a leader/manager recognize the signs of a disengaged employee and do you understand the impact that this can have on your organization as a whole? We have seen organizations that are not aware of the impact and have chosen to bury their heads in the sand - the ostrich syndrome. If they cannot see or hear it, then it must not be taking place. The constant negativity that is taking place at the water cooler is slowly poisoning your work environment and you need to think of solutions before the poison overtakes your entire organization. Maximize the positive energy and minimize the negative energy. We have seen where good employees have said very clearly that if this culture does not change then we will be looking to go elsewhere. Remember that it is always the good employees that leave - because they can! We will explore the signs of a disengaged employee and how that can impact a mentoring culture. We will look at what it takes to be an engaged employee and how that can impact your mentoring culture as well. Our discussion will explore the role of both types of employees in a mentoring culture. We will share some real life experiences and how the disengaged employee can actually do a lot of harm to your culture and disrupt the productivity levels. We will also discuss the implementation of a mentoring culture and what it takes to do so. We will draw on information from past presentations and leverage that learning to continue our journey towards creating organizations that have an engaged, empowered and accountable work force enabled through a mentoring culture.

05/02/2012    12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Meditation for Non-Meditators: Why Meditation can be a Valuable Tool Within Your Organization

Presenters:
Wendy Woods, M.B.A (Watershed Training Solutions)

Take some time out of your busy day and join us!

Experience the benefits first hand as you are guided – step by step - through the hands on practice of several meditations. Gain clear insights about why it’s a valuable work tool used by companies such as Google, General Mills and Genentech. While meditation has been around for thousands of years, it’s only recently that its benefits have been scientifically proven. Mindfulness meditation has been demonstrated to reduce stress, better cognition, improve concentration,increase empathy, aid in decision making, heighten self-awareness and boost positive emotions.

Sound too good to be true? Many of these advantages were discovered in both seasoned and novice meditators and within relatively short periods of time.

Learn simple ways to meditate without becoming a Buddhist monk or sitting cross legged in the office. Appreciate how the brain changes as a result of meditation on both a short and long term basis. Also understand how you can easily fit meditation into your busy day in quick and simple ways whether in a formal seated practice or in an everyday activity. Discover simple guidelines to make your meditation practice easier and enduring.

At the end of the session, participants will be ableto:
1. List 6 scientifically proven benefits of meditation
2. Describe simple meditation techniques that can be practiced in 10 minutes or less
3. Practice at least 2 meditation techniques and understand how to do 2 others.
4. Explain general guidelines for a good meditation.

05/02/2012    1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Influential Leadership: Be The Leader Others Want to Follow, Work for & Aspire to Become

Presenters:
Maria Gamb (NMS Communications LLC)

What makes some business leaders so highly effective and influential?
Why is it that some have devoted followers and teams that will do anything for them? Their staff, vendors and other circle of influences want to partner with them all the time. What is it that some of the most successful leaders today have that you may be missing? What is that special sauce that makes them so irresistible? The answer is that they know the secrets to exercising their influence and building relationships using tried and true rules of engagement that make others so loyal to them. Loyal staffer, vendors, clients and peers will propel you to advance more quickly than without them. They understand the importance of building TRUST as the grounding force. In this session you will learn the value based leadership tools that help get everyone on the same page. Because what an individual subconsciously believes to be true, or values, is what drives their behavior, being able to identify what your underlying values are will determine the way you build relationships with others. The key to effective leadership is being able to build sustainable relationships and circumventing the chaos that often disrupts harmonious teams and careers. Advancement doesn’t happen without consistency, clarity and great communications. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to unlock the secret formula that ties all of these elements together to create your own influential leadership? If you’re “done” with all the drama, truly desire to get everyone on the same page and begin moving forward rapidly, this session will give you some much needed insight and a critical tool for doing so.

05/02/2012    2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Value Structure and Job Fit: An Introduction to Formal Axiology (no math required).

Presenters:
Mark Burden, CPBA, CPVA, CIA (Peak Performance Systems)

If you’re already using psychometric assessments for talent development, and you’d like to deepen your understanding of the role some of them can play for you and your organization, then this webinar is for you. In this session you will be introduced to the science of Formal Axiology as discovered and developed by the late Dr. Robert S. Hartman.

Formal Axiology in this context is the mathematical application of value theory to the workplace. It looks at the measurement of value and uncovers the innate thought biases that all people posses; biases that shape workplace decision making on a subconscious level. Dr. Hartman’s discovery that there is a direct corelation between the value hierarchy into which human thought fits, and the sets in transfinite calculus, led to a breakthrough in discussions about the application of value theory. The breakthrough was in moving the conversation from the realm of philosophy into the realm of measurable science.

While the mathematics behind Dr. Hartman’s work is extremely robust, there will be no math to deal with in this session. Instead we will examine the three dimensions of thought that he identified and how they impact a person’s ability to fit in to the demands of a given job or job culture. Those with no back ground in the use of psychometric assessment instruments should review one of the following webinars in the HR.com archives,

•       Moving from Subjective to Objective: The Role of Assessments in Selection and Talent Management (Feb 2nd, 2012),

•       Mining the Subconscious: A Scientific Approach to Talent Development (Feb. 23rd, 2012).

This webinar promises to be an eye-opener to participants in terms of understanding how Formal Axiology can be used in matching people to roles within any organization.

05/02/2012    3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Scale the Ladder of Success without Self-Sabotage and Sacrifice

Presenters:
Jodi Krizer Graber (Bravo! Wellness, LLC)

Do the demands of your career control your life? Have you decided that you just aren’t meant to “have it all”? Do you make food decisions based on your emotions? The time is now to take a deep breath. Don’t wait another day to declare, “My life matters!” and decide to live life like you mean it.

Visualize the work-life balance you have been dreaming about for years. Success at the office. Happiness at home. A healthy and fulfilled life. Yes, life is busy and there are anxious moments; fortunately, you are able to make the best choices to serve your needs. Stress creeps in just when you least expect it but now you have tools and resources to manage it so it doesn’t overwhelm you. And, you have time for self-care: a massage, a night out with friends, a movie, a sporting event. You are your #1 priority which makes you a better parent, spouse, partner, friend, boss, colleague, employee. You are more productive than ever at work.

In Scale the Ladder of Success without Self-Sabotage and Sacrifice, you will learn about mindset and the reason you need to decide what you want and why you want it. The external messages from advertisements, magazines, the internet, etc. suggest that if one looks like the latest “it” model or hottest television star, or is as wealthy and smart as Mark Zuckerberg, then they, too, can have it all. In reality, individuals must look within themselves for true peace and contentment.

Another key component of this presentation is the science behind the food-mood connection and why healthy eating is the cornerstone of success and satisfaction. It is critical to understand how sugar and processed foods affect the brain and the digestive system. If you are committed to living your best life, this session will provide you with the foundation upon which you can set and achieve your B.E.S.T. life goals.

05/03/2012    11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Bridging the Workforce Productivity Gap in Canada: the solution's not where most people are looking.

Presenters:
Jan van der Hoop (HiringSmart)
Tim Brennan (HiringSmart)

Canada's workforce productivity is lagging that of most of the developed world, and trending downward - in sharp contrast to our neighbours (and competitors) to the South where labour productivity is considerably stronger than ours and growing.

The economists point to a more conservative climate in Canada as it relates to investments in such things as R&D and technology... and the truth is that we have pretty much wrung what we can out of the cost side of the equation through two decades of process improvement.

So how do we stop the downward spiral and become competitive once again in a market that is more global then ever? A big part of the answer lies in learning to measure what matters as it relates to matching talent with opportunity, and in learning to work - and to produce value - differently than we have in the past.

As we’ve often said, ‘what got us here, won’t get us there’. We need to develop a different set of metrics than we are typically reporting today, to guide how we staff, manage and lead our organizations. Surveys report that CFOs are every bit as concerned about their inability to reliably connect the dots between People and the P&L as we are as HR professionals. These new metrics are readily available in any organization; we just need to start using them.

Perhaps the best news is that the level of financial investment to get on the right path is low – very low – in contrast to the return on that investment. But it does require a willingness to see – and to do – differently.

Are you up for the challenge?

05/03/2012    12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Coaching Leaders to Personalize Their Own Guide to Highly Effective Leadership

Presenters:
David Crisp (Crisp Leadership Strategies)

The missing link in effective Talent Management and HR Strategy - 80% of managers routinely show up as not highly effective. Another study found 60% wanted no responsibility for managing people. How you change this varies with the personalities involved. Strengthening leaders can increase their results 3 to 20 times, prepares them for succession and powers the missing core of performance management. Understanding the skills effective leaders need in common, but can apply differently helps you develop approaches that work for everyone. Take away a useful guide you can get others to understand and use. Help your organization close one of the most puzzling gaps in all HR work.

With staff levels pared back drastically, innovation and development is challenging even for top notch leaders and repeated studies show nearly 82% don’t have the people skills to manage such a complex task. Here’s what it takes in a plain, simple, practical outline. The truism that ‘leaders develop leaders’ has never been more accurate – without skill in leadership, it is impossible to fully recognize it or develop it in others. The challenge is each leader is different, needs different emphasis in coaching and interacts differently with their peers, bosses and reports. There are consistent guide beacons, however, that help to understand and practice using.

Leadership inspires innovative efforts beyond the routine and unleashes the combined creativity of every single employee, again in unique ways for each individual. Companies can no longer afford to limit their innovations to those dreamed up by a small research staff or a creative CEO alone. To compete effectively, the only route to survival in our turbulent, challenging environment, requires effective leadership from every person capable of providing it at every level of the organization on a daily basis, not occasional efforts approved by laborious bureaucratic processes.

Recruiting, no matter how effective, can close only part of the talent gap. Even assuming your organization can identify its leadership needs there’s no point recruiting the best if they are dumped into an uncreative environment set by weak leaders. Only by spreading leadership skills widely around the organization and creating an environment where people are willing to take reasonable risks can innovation occur steadily and reliably. Effective leaders encourage trial and error and don’t penalize people for taking calculated risks and making suggestions that don’t always pan out. Knowing how to balance risk and return at a grass-roots as well as at the enterprise level is an essential skill for leaders today. Understanding what it takes to engage employees fully, including their emotional needs to contribute, to be respected and to grow their skills, is key to developing the highest productivity on a continuing basis.

05/03/2012    1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Empowering Your Social Workforce in the Cloud

Presenters:
Patrick McGuire (Vana Workforce)

Vana Workforce in partnership with HR.com, Canadian Masters in HR Strategy & Execution are excited to present “Empowering Your Social Workforce in the Cloud”; an information session for HR professionals, consultants, managers, small and midsized enterprise owners and operators; a rich overview and insight how to go from Hire to Retire with integrated HRIS solutions, saving time and money, increasing performance and reducing the bottom line for maximum impact and ROI while embracing the Social Workforce for increased success.

This content rich session will deliver an introduction to the cloud with a focus on the future of the social workforce and how it will benefit your organization to go above the clouds no matter your org size. This session will also explore the power of cloud computing and the new opportunities that exist to save your organization time and money. The big question these days seems to be how to manage a growing global social workforce and the “big data” that comes with it; we will address what Core HR really means and how organizations can manage big data and leverage the power of an integrated “hire to retire” human capital management solution in the cloud.

Organizations will learn how to save time and money working in the cloud with an integrated Human Resource Solution.

Consultants, HR Administrators and Managers will gain insights how the Social Workforce is going global and how to better manage and automate mundane monotonous tasks with instant accuracy and reporting metrics so you can focus on the H of HR and work with the other Humans in the Social Workforce.

Everyone will discover the power of the cloud and gain an understanding of the benefits of a robust integrated Hire to Retire HRIS that embraces integration and social collaboration.

"By the year 2014, 47% of ...workers will be under the age of 35. And these younger workers are just as smart and hard-working as we baby-boomers are." Bersin and Associates

05/03/2012    2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Is Your Organizational Culture a 'Me' or a 'We' Culture?

Presenters:
Trish Maguire (Synergyx Solutions)

Is it possible that the recession has accelerated a workplace revolution where leaders have to rethink their philosophies on creating communities of commitment, affiliation, and learning? Is it possible that with the multi-generational workforce we have hit the “Age of the Employee?”

Whether you agree or disagree, the following quotes are fundamental to the concepts presented in this webinar where the question being raised is about the underlying value of creating a “WE” versus “ME” culture:
“Any leadership practice that increases another’s sense of self-confidence, self-determination, and personal effectiveness makes that person more powerful and greatly enhances the possibility of success.” [Kouzes & Posner]
“Organizations need to cease seeing people as helpless reactors, to seeing them as active participants in shaping their reality, from reacting to the present, to creating the future.” [Senge]

Both present powerful insights into the reality that leadership and attitude are key factors that influence an organization’s performance and success.

The opportunity in today’s knowledge-based economy appears to be in the effective development of leadership practices that will not only attract people but demonstrate a commitment to helping them realize their personal goals and ambitions.

The overall objective in today’s webinar is to lead a discussion on the value of creating an organizational leadership culture of inclusivity, collaborative spirit and trustworthy partnering where the focus will be on building a “WE” versus “ME” culture. This concept fosters personal growth both emotionally and intellectually. It is a people centric focus and you will have the opportunity to reflect on practical tools and guidelines to help you define, shape and implement your own ideas.

You can choose to use all the suggestions or just a few. The intention is to encourage you to create your own interpretations and build a greater sense of ownership, affiliation, collaboration and co-partnering within your own organization’s culture.

05/03/2012    3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

IC Management; Time To Get Ready

Presenters:
Dan Roehrs (HCMWorks, Inc.)
Susan Richards (Payment Services Corporation)

* Note: This webcast does not qualify for HRCI or IHR credits

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the staffing industry emerged as a significant part of corporate manpower planning strategies, which prompted an offshoot population of independent contractors. This segment of the workforce was not employed by staffing agencies but rather, they incorporated themselves as a single entity and provided productivity through their newly created “businesses.” This group saw acceleration to its ranks through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) boom, which spawned many niche technology professional experts who found higher wages by representing themselves as “independent corporations/ contractors”. With the diverse modular implementations of the ERP systems growing, the need for SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Baan and other ERP specialists created a rich supply and dynamic demand. With the technology expertise demand frenzy that continued via the “Y2K” software systems scare of 2000, these dual business elements fueled the continued explosion of the ranks of independent contractors well into the new millennium.

Nearly every week there is news of Independent Contractor misclassification and other "gray area" errors that are resulting in companies primarily (for now) in the US to pay enormous fines and in some extreme cases even serve jail time. This session will review some of these cases and, more importantly, lay out strategy and specific things you should be doing now to prepare for the inevitable audit from the CRA and other government and regulatory bodies of Canada.

Specifically, we will cover the US precedent and how in all of these cases, the company in question could have done more to ensure complete separation from their IC workforce. Further, we will discuss how these cases have increased in number; pointing to a disturbing trend of the US government’s realization of new revenue opportunities. Having seen links to US and Canada business and government actions in the past, we will also show why now is the time for companies here in Canada to be aware of these potential risks and exposures while proactively working to mitigate them. Finally, we will be pointing out specific things that you can be doing right now to lessen your risk.